Translation Market in India Exhibits Substantial Growth

At present, majority of people prefer to browse Internet for accessing a broad range of information, which is mostly available in English. As a result, they feel relatively more confident and comfortable in reading English as compared to their own mother tongue. This remains one of the major reasons behind constantly increasing popularity of books and classic literature, which are translated into English from various Indian regional languages. Additionally, desire to remain connected with one’s native roots, especially among non-resident Indians (NRIs) is propelling demand for translated literature among Indian Diaspora living in foreign countries. In order to tap the available opportunity, several leading global publishers including Harper-Collins, Penguin, Random House and Hachette, as well as Bloomsbury are now giving a lot of impetus on publishing works of various famous Indian writers such as Munshi Premchand, Ghalib, as well as Saadat Hasan Manto in English. This is playing an important role in popularizing Indian literature among an extensive young reader base.

Introduction of Murty Classical Library and Indian Literature Abroad Fueling Demand for Indian Literature

India is a land of multiple languages, religions, as well as social beliefs. India has a highly diverse and great literary tradition that dated back to several centuries. In contrast to various other countries, Indian literature is highly complex, multilingual, and written in several languages including Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi etc. Irrespective of such a rich and diverse literary history, Indian classical texts are yet to gain acceptance among an extensive global reader base. With an intention of familiarizing today’s youth with Indian literature, Infosys launched Murty Classical Library of India. The library in collaboration with the Harvard University Press is planning to introduce a broad range of classical literature that would be translated into English from several regional languages including Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Sindhi, Telugu, as well as Urdu. Under this initiative, around 40 leading global translators are currently working on translating classic literary texts originally written in Sanskrit, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, as well as Urdu into English. The library is expected to release songs of Buddhist nuns, Bulle Shah’s sufi lyrics, Surdas’ Sursagar, as well as Abu’l Fazl’s Akbarnama originally written in Pali, Punjabi, Hindi, and Persian languages, respectively over the next few years. Additionally, the series would include textual notes, explanatory commentary, as well as script for providing readers with highly reliable as well as authentic information. Similarly, in order to promote and popularize Indian literature among global audience, Government of India introduced Indian Literature Abroad (ILA). Under this project, the government would facilitate translation of classical Indian literature into several UNESCO recognized foreign languages. In order to fulfilling this requirement, ILA is planning to introduce fellowships, as well as organize seminars over the next few years.

A Brief Overview on Role and Scope of English Translation in India

In a multi-lingual country like India that has 22 officially recognized and 122 regional languages, 15 varied scripts, as well as several dialects, translation plays a critical role in strengthening unity among people. Though being a foreign language, English is nowadays gaining acceptance as a preferred mean of communication specifically among youngsters living in urban areas. Additionally, English is now used as a major medium of education in several educational institutions such as school, colleges, as well as universities. Apart from this, in a multilingual society like India, English is playing an important role in enabling people from different states to communicate with each other. All of these factors are opening new avenues of growth for firms as well as individuals operating in the highly prospective Indian translation market.